


Sweets and Savoring - A Perfectly Aligned Story

by Rhysanoodle



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Baking fluff, F/M, Fluff, Perfectly Aligned, Steamy, wing sin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:53:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21754798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhysanoodle/pseuds/Rhysanoodle
Summary: My piece for Day 3 of ACOTAR AU Week over on Tumblr: Christmas/Holiday AU! While this is a short story set in the Perfectly Aligned universe, this can be read completely on its own.All you need to know are that Elriel are together, Az has a little sister, and Elain and Azriel are both able to communicate through and control his shadows. Enjoy! 💜
Relationships: Elain Archeron/Azriel
Comments: 5
Kudos: 54
Collections: ACOTAR AU Week, ACOTAR AU Week Day 3, Perfectly Aligned Stories





	Sweets and Savoring - A Perfectly Aligned Story

“Need any help?” Elain murmured as she snuck up behind Azriel who had already begun pulling baking sheets and mixing bowls out of the cabinets. She’d tied an apron on and pulled him into an embrace from behind, feeling the comforting presence of one of his wings snaking instinctively behind her as he covered her hand with one of his own.

“You’re going to get flour all over yourself, you know.” She offered him another protective piece of fabric, helping him with the ties in back and grinning at the hisses he elicited when she accidentally brushed his wings.

She knew it was cruel, especially considering the fact that he couldn’t take her right on the countertop like she knew he desperately desired to. It was just a taste of what would come later tonight though. Watching him around children always caused Elain to somehow become even more incredibly attracted to him than she already was.

Speaking of which, she heard the doors to Rosehall manor swing open and the buzz of a sopping little girl zooming into the kitchen. “Cookie time!”

It was the first Solstice the two of them had decided to forgo the celebration with the Inner Circle and spend it with his mother, step-father, and of course little Iris, who was already five somehow.

“Are you ready?” she asked, already definitively knowing the answer to the question. Iris was already pulling the tiny apron she had just bought with her mother over her curls, letting the ties in back droop to the floor before Elain gathered them for her. Azriel flashed her an apologetic look—as if he had anything to be sorry for. Elain had been looking forward to this all day.

She watched as Iris pulled a stool over to the counter and rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “Yeah! I love cookies!”

“I see she didn’t get her sweet tooth from you,” Elain jested, bumping Azriel with her hip. Turning back to Iris, she said, “I have a few favorite holiday cookies, and I thought we could just make them all?”

Azriel flashed her a warning look.

_What?_

_She’s five. Don’t you think that’s a little much?_

_If she’s as into it as I was when I was her age, I think we’ll do just fine. Besides, there’s plenty for her to do with her hands, and I brought icing and sprinkles. Worst case scenario, she just plays around in those the whole time._

_If you say so._

Elain could tell he wasn’t convinced, but she knew that deep down Azriel would do anything for her and Iris, so he was secretly loving this at least a little bit. His Siphon was tattling on him, one of her favorite things about this little bond they shared.

She began with the butter cookies, showing Iris how to measure out the ingredients and letting her to the dirty work of mixing it together with her hands. Who needed spoons when there were such fine substitutes? Then, they rolled out the balls of dough, and Elain let Iris run wild with the handful of cutting shapes she’d nabbed from the kitchens back home.

Watching the glee on the young child’s face and also the awed contentment on her partner’s as they worked was enough to fulfill all her Solstice wish needs. Getting to spend this time with family was gift enough, and she could feel the tempered joy rolling through Azriel as she embraced his younger sister so fiercely.

While those were in the oven, Elain put a pot on the stove and melted some marshmallows in butter. Here was where her human heritage would come in handy. She had placed an order for some of the cereals they made there in order to provide a cheap, long-lasting breakfast option out of oats and other grains. The cereal was rather bland and not particularly appetizing, but it was just the vessel for one of the ideas she had come up with.

She tinted the stovetop mixture green and then dumped a heaping jar of cereal in, until it was one giant glob of green goo and poured it onto a plate with a spoon. “Okay, you see those garlands and wreaths?” Elain pointed at the decorations in the living room, and Iris nodded. We’re going to make some wreaths out of these! And then cover them in candy!”

She picked up a chunk, cautioning Iris, “Be careful. Only pick up a little at a time because it’s so hot, and then shape it on your plate.” Elain pulled the sticky confection into a semblance of a circle and then grabbed a few red candies from the jar on the counter and scattered them around the top, letting them harden onto the treat and getting some prepped for Iris, whose “wreath” was looking more like a heaping mound.

“Oh, that’s beautiful!” Elain exclaimed, not having any idea what the shape was as Iris chose candies of every color of the rainbow to glob into every nook and cranny of surface area.

“It’s a big tree! Like those ones outside!” Iris grinned, clearly patting herself on the back. Elain and Azriel supervised as she made all manner of other shapes with the cereal treats, with one goal clearly in mind—the more sugar the better.

When they ran out, they cleaned up and pulled the cookies out of the oven, letting them cool for a few minutes while Elain brought out the many jars of icing she’d brought with her. She’d been able to find a vendor in the Rainbow who had an exquisite collection of food coloring mixtures and therefore given Iris a variety of options which the girl instantly took to, making a variety of goopy masterpieces. Elain picked up a heart-shaped cookie and began painting it a deep shade of blue which she selfishly chose because it reminded her of a certain favorite someone when a thrill of smugness shot down the bond between them.

_Is that for me?_

_No, you smug bastard. This is purely for my own enjoyment._ She began picking up light pink circular sprinkles and polka-dotting the surface of the pastry.

When she was done, she finally locked eyes with him, watching the way the flecks of amber within them sparkled before lifting the cookie to her mouth and having it summarily snatched away by a tendril of cobalt.

 _Hey!_ she protested, as he took a gaping bite out of the side of it. _You hate sweets! Give that back!_

_But it’s so good, and—_

He didn’t have time to finish his sentence before she’d dug her fingers into the vat of pink icing and smeared it down his nose in retaliation.

“We can paint ourselves?” Iris shrieked with glee, having noticed this completely conspicuous exchange. 

Elain froze, having completely forgotten the fact that there was an impressionable child in the room.

Azriel was chuckling to himself as Elain watched in horror as Iris dipped her hands fully in two containers, a technicolored sugary mess coming out as she beheld her creation.

 _You did this to us_ , he smirked, but it wasn’t long-lasting as those chubby fingers found his cheeks leaving mirrored handprints across their planes.

The next five minutes went by with Iris squealing in delight as she marked up every surface she could find, including her own face and were only interrupted when Illiana waltzed in to find the three of them thoroughly sticky and looking like a unicorn had vomited all over them.

“Oh my!” She scooped Iris up.

“I’m the prettiest cookie, mommy!”

Elain watched as Illiana surveyed them all, the cookies on the table sitting half-finished, a warm smile forming on her lips. “Indeed you are, my dear! Now, why don’t you grab a sweet and we’ll get you cleaned up now before bed. It wouldn’t be fair to the other cookies if you keep outshining them.”

Azriel grabbed one of Iris’s creations off the platter and shoved it into her hand as she was ferried off towards the bathing chamber.

“You little minx,” he crooned, once his family was out of earshot, smearing a globule of orange across her cleavage.

“You deserved it.” Elain batted her eyelashes innocently before quickly ducking her hand into the nearest container and finding a lovely shade of purple to match his wings which shuddered as she attacked them with no abandon.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry for eating your cookie, but it was just too adorable.”

“I _was_ going to give it to you before you laid claim to it so brashly.”

“I knew it!” A vindictive smile crossed his lips.

He pulled her up to standing, not wasting a moment before he had pushed against the wall, the saccharine taste of icing coating his tongue as it swept into her mouth greedily. She returned his fervor fiercely, relishing in the simple joy of this day spent with him.

His hands roamed her hips, and she could feel the longing building within him mirroring herself as he stole all the breath from her. When she felt shadows beginning to creep up her legs underneath her dress, she paused.

 _They’ll be in there for awhile_ , Azriel growled through the shadows.

 _Oh?_ Elain murmured feebly, knowing that resisting wasn’t a battle she wanted to win as her toes curled beneath her.

_So I’ll take care of you, and then later you’ll get to clean up this sticky mess you’ve left on my wings._

_I can do that without bathing_ , Elain crooned, slipping free just enough that she could maneuver over to his left wing, her tongue finding the icing marring the smooth plane and gliding a path through its sugary goodness.

Azriel trembled beneath her and as her hands found the front of him pants and began unbuckling them, she was pleased with the bulge she felt waiting for her.

“ _Not. Now._ ” Azriel stuttered out, going back on his words only moments before and reminding Elain that they were in a house full of his family members—a child included. They would survive the humiliation of being walked in on by the Inner Circle, but it wasn’t worth Azriel literally getting caught with his pants down here.

“Then, you’ll just have to wait too,” Elain smirked, commanding the shadows to stop lazily running themselves over the insides of her thighs, much to Azriel’s dismay.

“How am I supposed to wait for the bath to free up and everyone to go to bed?”

Elain glanced back at the abandoned table. “With a little decorating. Come on. Let’s finish up and clean this best as we can.”

The two of them worked in a tense silence, every fragment of their beings itching to ravish the other right then and there, but at least they were able to keep their hands busy.

An excruciatingly long time later, they heard murmurs of Iris being put down for the night and Illiana and Edon retreating to their bedroom, giving them the go-ahead to race towards the baths, knowing what awaited them each within. 


End file.
